COMPETITIVE STRATEGY : TECHNIQUES FOR ANALYZING INDUSTRIES AND COMPETITORS
Author: Michael E. Porter
List Price: $37.50
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ISBN: 0684841487
Publisher: Free Press (01 June, 1998)
Sales Rank: 594
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
The best ABC book about Business Strategy
This book is a classic! It's concepts will last forever...Sun Tzu would have written a very similar book, if he would have written about businesses. If you want to introduce yourself to business strategy and understand the broad picture, this is the book you must read. The book lets you understand competitive forces within an industry and the strategic steps a company can take to enhance its competitive position. It also describes the main caractheristics of nacent, mature, and declining insutries and available strategies for each case. Although it is a easy to read (but not light) and is very well structured, you must first be familiar with some economics and business administration concepts. You CAN'T talk or even have an opinion (sounds exagerating but it's true... it's the ABC, remember?) about strategy if you have not read this book. A MUST for business analyst, strategist, managers and directors... (I think this phrase appears on the book, but it's true).I bought the spanish version, which is not very good. For spanish speakers....buy the english version if you can.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Clasic for all time
As Adam Smith is to economics and capitalism, Porter is to business strategy within this market system. This is THE seminal book for defining how businesses compete.
As technology fads and internet business models ("New economy") come and go, every company must still address the basics of competition as outlined within this book. The frameworks within the book outline:
-How to assess the competitive structure of your industry,
-Generic competitive strategies
-Competitor Analysis
-Effects of market signals on competitive behavior
-Competitive moves in response to your strategy
-Competitve strategy in a number of different market environments
-Impact of strategies such as Vertical integration, growth through new products, scale, and M&A
-... much more
You will use this book as a reference, and find it is timeless. It is no wonder the Mr. Porter is widely regarded as the preeminent strategist.
To put this in practice I recommend books on gaming theory.
Rating: 5 out of 5
A book that should be referred to over and over again.
This is one of the foundation books of the modern business education. Yes, it was written over twenty years ago and you cannot take a business course anywhere without the term "Porter's Five Forces" not at least being mentioned. But, really, this book is still completely relevant and should be on every businessperson's bookshelf, front and center.For a concept that has so much a place in b-school discussions, you might think the book focuses on the 5-forces, but it is only a small part of the book. It outlines the Generic Competitive Strategies (again, a now well known topic), Competitor Analysis (extremely valuable), Market Signals, Competitive Moves, and so much more.
The book is in three parts, General Analytical Techniques, Generic Industry Environments, and Strategic Decisions. There is an appendix on Portfolio Techniques in Competitor Analysis, and a very useful appendix on How to Conduct an Industry Analysis.
I think a lot of times this book is not given as active a place in the pantheon as it deserves because so many books and articles are recycling a lot of what was in this book and most don't add much to the discussion. Honestly, this book is worth referring to over and over and over again. It is a tool or a weapon in your competitive war chest that needs to be kept active and in play.
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